Irondad & Spiderson

Hello? Part 2

The system was going great. Tony didn't suspect a thing and Peter was living happy. He had a family and food and a warm bed and Tony and the rest of the Avengers and all of these other awesome things. Peter really couldn't be happier. Unless of course Aunt May was there but other than that.

Oh. And the fact that his happiness had a deadline. He had only been living with Tony for three days but the days were passing by in a blur. Peter knew that he couldn't just ask to stay at the tower. He didn't want to be a burden.

On the other hand, living with Tony and the rest of the Avengers at the tower would be Awesome with a capital A. Even if he was a burden.

Peter continued the ongoing argument in his head, trying to reason that living out of dumpsters wouldn't be that bad. He was a little worried about his metabolism and school but he was sure there was a homeless shelter nearby that he could hang out at periodically. It wouldn't be that bad.

The teenager shook his head, effectively clearing his head of all negative thoughts, and tried to focus on the conversation in front of him. Tony and Steve were bickering about when Steve's birthday really was. The billionaire knew it was December 16 but Steve stood by the public date of July 4th.

At that moment, Bucky walked in and listened to the conversation for a second before saying "Steve's birthday is December 16", grabbing a plum, and walking out of the kitchen. It was silent for a second before Tony jumped out of his chair and shouted "I WAS RIGHT!" and a few avengers exchanged money.

After Tony stopped doing his victory dance (which looked suspiciously like a lap dance), Steve looked up at him and asked "how did you know?"

Tony shrugged. "My dad remembered it more than he remembered mine. The real question is why did you say your birthday was the Fourth of July?"

Steve looked embarrassed. "I was on tour and I wanted to seem patriotic, plus I kinda panicked, so when someone asked I just blurted it out. In hindsight, I seemed kinda jingoistic. It helped sell more war bonds, though" He scratched the back of his neck, his telltale sign of embarrassment.

Surprisingly, Tony didn't laugh (at least not out loud) and instead gave an awkward pat on the back. Steve looked almost apologetic at the fact his birthday mattered more to Howard Stark then Tony's.

Peter's head snapped up from his empty plate of food at his sudden revelation. "THATS WHY YOU TACKLED BUCKY OUT THE WINDOW LAST YEAR!"

Everyone erupted into fits of laughter as they recalled the fond memory. Peter continued in between giggles. "I thought that was just something old people did! Or like an inside joke!"

The team laughed even harder (if that was possible) and they shared their own stories of inside jokes and other funny anecdotes.

Peter was having a great time. He truly felt like a part of the team, like a part of the family. But deep down the negativity and doubts continued swirling, the sinking feeling in his gut at the deadline on his happiness.

Tony must've noticed Peter's forlorn expression that he tried to hide (and ultimately failed). "Hey, kiddo. What's wrong?" All traces of jokes were gone from his voice, his tone showing his seriousness.

The teenager stammered as he struggled to explain himself. "I-I-I um I just thought about how um I miss my aunt."

Technically not a lie. Not that he was going to say that out loud.

The Avengers sympathized with the grieving teen and instantly began to comfort him. Peter was taken by surprise when Clint yelled out 'group hug!' but didn't complain. He even welcomed the embrace.